He breathed for several long seconds and then nodded. “Yeah. I’m okay with that.”
“Okay. No penis into vagina sex.”
He burst out laughing.
She couldn’t help it. She laughed to. “I mean it. It’s off limits. But Riley...” She cupped his cheek to get him to look at her again. “That leaves a big open field of other stuff to do.”
His gaze lowered and he was back in thought. Oh, she didn’t want him thinking. She wanted him doing. If he wanted to remember something, it should be the carefree guy he’d been before that woman cut him to the core and left him raw and bleeding.
She ran her thumb over the seam of his lips. “I see this working out in a couple of ways. One: you can go back to kissing me and we can see where this leads Or two: You can put me down and we can be miserable for the rest of the day and week.” His gaze was back on hers. She leaned forward and nibbled his jaw. “I’m not really interested in being miserable, Riley.”
She kissed his cheek, the corner of his mouth. She licked the spot behind his ear and caught his lobe between her teeth. He hissed. His fingers went back to squeezing her ass again.
“What’s it going to be, Riley?” she whispered.
He turned with her and sat her on the fence at her back. He held her hips, steadying her there. “No,” —he smiled and glanced down with a shake of his head— “penis and vagina sex.”
“That’s not an option for the taking.”
“I know. I don’t even have a condom on me.” His hands slid along her thighs and she tried adjusting to encourage him higher, to grab her on the rear. He only held her still and leaned in closer. “I’m pretty sure you don’t either, not in those pants.”
She shook her head, breathless and anticipating what he had in mind. “Nope.”
And he finally gave her that Riley Hamilton smile. The one she’d heard girls whispering about in the bathrooms during high school. Pushing him to return to his roots a bit was a very, very good idea.
Chapter Seven
The crisp fall air slipped across the back of Riley’s burning hot neck, bringing with it the fresh scent of pine and damp earth.
He stepped closer into the cradle of Shellie’s hips and finally kissed her as he’d been wanting to. Lips and tongues melded together in a ball of heat and passion. Her hands cradled the back of his head and her nails scraped against his scalp. That one rough touch of her nails jolted through his body and revived him.
Not all of him, just a piece. He knew exactly how far today would go and no matter how much he might become tempted, he knew it wouldn’t matter. He would not lose control. Couldn’t, really. Without a condom, he couldn’t take as much as he feared he would really like to. It was why he didn’t keep condoms unless he was in a devoted relationship. It kept him honest with himself.
He swallowed and the small charge in him pounded through his veins. Bolts fired through his blood and his body moved into motions he’d long ago tried to forget.
Hands curved around her hips and up her backside. Fingers dipped under the fuzzy soft warmth of her sweater, touching hot skin. He gripped, knowing if he didn’t, his hands would shake. It’d been years since it’d been like this and it was nearly too much.
Sex since college had been controlled. And in a bedroom. With lights off. With Shellie, out here on his land, his well maintained level-head was giving way to his trembling body. He carried on, knowing he couldn’t go too far without protection.
She bent and pressed her mouth back to his. After all these years, after two quick kisses, he was going to find out what set Shellie Chambers off. Would she be easily intrigued or hard to please? Hell, he really didn’t give a damn, because either way, he knew it would be great and a perfect fit for him. She always was, with everything else in his life.
He gripped her hips gently and slowly increased pressure until she was on the edge of the fence. Hot breath panted from her lips and turned to fog. Her thighs squeezed against his sides and kept him within her legs. He edged under her sweater and felt up to her waist. His thumbs smoothed over each one of her delicate ribs and he wished to God they were in the house so he could strip her and see her naked without the cold air freezing her ass off. Later… he could do that later tonight. Because at the house would still be safe since he had no condoms there either.
Now was for fun and quick release. Later he would worship her curves and memorize what made her breathless. He cupped her silky smooth bra in his hands and welcomed the natural fit of her tits against his palms. Later he’d know those more intimately. Their taste and weight. The shade of her nipples and the prick of her tips. He kissed her neck and dropped his hands to her thighs and did his best to ignore his own raging desire to take her how he wanted, just for his own satisfaction. That soul sucking need for sating his cravings would not return, no matter what. Not that his partners had ever been left wanting to his knowledge, but never had he set out with their needs coming first in his mind.
Going at this just for the purpose for Shellie was different. More thrilling. A challenge against himself to not become so overly interested that he lost his purpose of pleasing only her. He dipped his fingers between her thighs and dragged his thumbs along her warm center, covered by the thin layer of her pants. She shuddered in his arms. Again he stroked her and rested his palm against her until her breath was hitching. This wasn’t enough. It was only making him crazier. He grabbed her and tugged her off the fence. She startled but held tight to him as he turned for his four-wheeler and laid her across the length of the seat with her head carefully placed against the back rack.
Stretched out before him, his for the taking to do as he pleased. Not
all
he pleased, but a lot of possibilities raced around. Shellie had been right about that. There was still a whole hell of a lot they could do.
He lifted her legs and straddled his four-wheeler backwards so he faced her. Her long, beautiful trim thighs extended over the top of his and her heels hooked over the handlebars. He dipped his hands under her bottom and lifted ever so slightly as he tugged at the light pants she wore.
Of all his options, tasting her was the one thing he wanted the most. He pulled on the black stocking looking things, freeing her ass from them and he was met with panties as red as her shirt. His cock ached in a way it never had before. Stomach tightened, desiring nothing more than to free himself and stroke her until she cried out his name. He jerked the red thong down to her knees, as far as her pants had been shucked, and shuddered at the need to bury inside and thrust until he came. To feel her tight wet heat sucking and jerking on him. He swallowed and closed his eyes to get a handle on himself.
He was hit with the strong scent of her sex and he waited no longer. He bent and lifted her to his mouth. She groaned, her back arched as she reached above her head and gripped the handlebars of the rack.
Her sweet and honeyed taste coated his tongue while her gasping pants of air filled his head and zipped down to his balls, gripping them tight in desperate need. He licked and sucked at the very center of her. Somehow she seemed to grow wetter and the urge to take her how he wanted grew stronger. But he wouldn’t and surprisingly, he found himself okay with it. Not that he was thrilled, by any means, but he was okay doing this just for her and not giving up himself and the new Riley. He licked her and nibbled and finally gave her what she wanted as she cried out. Her hips twisted in his hands as her body was thrown into rapture from his attention. He drank from her until she melted and relaxed with a purr. Her eyes still glazed over, he tugged her thongs and pants back up and into place, putting a safe barrier between him and her.
She sat forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. He grabbed her by the hips and brought her flush against his aching cock. Her ankles hooked at his back. Arms wound his neck.
“I want to take you home and undress you. I want to feel your naked skin against mine.”
She nodded, still trying to catch her breath, but not slowing down to take the time. “Next.”
Her hips rolled upward, stroking her pelvis along the length of him. He groaned and brought her against him again. Her head tilted back and she kept the pace. Her skin flushed in the cool air. He could see it coming over her again, building in her eyes. He ground against her, felt his own need rising. He pressed on. Just a little longer and he’d have her clawing at him again.
She kissed his neck, licked the lobe of his ear. “I want to taste you, Riley.”
The image electrified through his mind. Of entering her mouth. Watching her lick him. Her tongue rasping over him. The tip of his cock delving to the back of her throat. His balls tightened and he froze, knowing it was too late.
Release shuddered through him quicker than he could catch his next thought. He was left holding her, grasping for something else, praying he had not just spilled in his jeans like a thirteen year old.
But he had.
Shellie stilled and he knew she’d discovered exactly what happened. Her gaze dropped between them. She breathed heavy and leaned forward and pressed an open mouthed kiss to his neck. “That’s the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Chapter Five
Shellie smoothed the edges of her skirt down. Not so much because it was wrinkled or trying to fold up, but to keep her hands on her lap. Otherwise, she knew where they’d end up. In Riley’s lap, pressing her palm against his zipper. She’d managed to peel herself off him that morning and he’d taken her back to the house. He stayed long enough to change his clothes before he was out the door without much more than a, ‘we need to go to a party this evening’. She knew he was having a difficult time grasping what had taken place outside—she certainly was—but then when he returned, he seemed set on dodging her step and not talking about it. And she’d let him because she was grasping herself for some answers.
Being with him had not been quite like what she expected. She expected it to be good and not leave with any complaints. What came as a surprise was the way her skin seemed to electrify at his touch. How she was still tingly and craving more after all these hours.
Warmth threaded through her blood and she flicked the heater vents off. “Who are these people again?”
“Parker and Stephanie. He’s my mechanic.”
“Your mechanic invited you to his open house party?”
“Actually his girlfriend did.”
“How do you know her?”
“I don’t really.” His knee bounced. “I mean, I know of her, but I don’t really know her. She was married to Parker’s best friend, but they divorced.”
“And now she’s with the best friend, Parker. We’re they having an affair and that’s why they got a divorce?” Talking about other people should be distracting her thoughts off his lap and the warming action taking place between her thighs. It wasn’t.
Riley shrugged as if he wasn’t having arousal issues. And who knows, maybe he wasn’t. He was so laid back at the moment. Except, his hands looked awful tense holding the steering wheel. “I don’t know. I think her ex-husband was having the affair, 'cause right after they split, he moved with Stephanie’s friend to New Mexico, I heard.”
“I thought you said you didn’t really know these people?”
“I don’t. Parker is just my mechanic, but it’s a small town. Everything gets around and everyone is friends with everyone.”
He pulled along the curb and parked amongst the other half dozen or so people there. She hopped out and met him at the front. He walked next to her. His hand was on her back, innocently resting there. But his fingers spread wider. The tips teased at the waist band of her gray skirt.
Memories of that morning filled her head. Not that they had ever left…but still. She had made Riley Hamilton lose control. He was rumored to have insane amounts of stamina, but he’d lost it with her.
A rush of school girl giggles raced through her, but she managed to keep from spilling them out her mouth. She’d finally managed to see the Riley she remembered that morning. He’d been lighter and seemed happier. He still was… to a degree.
The closer he moved to the house though, he seemed to be curling into himself, returning into a shadow of a man. His mouth was straightening into a hard line, his shoulders were rolling back into place.
He walked her up the short concrete drive and didn’t even pause at the glass screen door. He just reached down and opened it like he lived here.
She glanced up. “I thought you barely knew these people.”
“I don’t know them as well I know you, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
Heat raced through her that had nothing to do with embarrassment and everything to do with the wetness forming between her legs. “Of course not.”
“Stephanie said they’d be in the back, to just come on in.”
He held the door opened and she walked past. It was a nice home, held that just cleaned and fresh scent to it. The walls were white and bare of pictures or any other things. The tile floor in the hall opening was a pretty tan and her heels clicked over it, ticking off the time until she would be in his arms again. Or it seemed that way to her, at least, because being with him again was something she couldn’t wait to get after.
Laughter and voices echoed through the entryway and she followed them toward the back of the house, through a cute little country looking kitchen that had yellow walls and a dark wood table. Out the glass sliding doors were a dozen or so people laughing and having a good time.
Riley reached around her and slid the glass aside. “The man at the grill in the jeans and white shirt is Parker. The brown headed girl next to him with her fingers hooked in his belt-loops is Stephanie.”
“Pretty.”
Riley only shrugged. And it made her heart flutter, which was a really stupid and ridiculous thing to happen, but there it was anyway. For the next half-hour, she stood next to Riley as he made introductions. The more he talked tractor races, cows, and gardening, the more his shoulders relaxed, the more often his hand found the small of her back.
When she was scooping potato salad on his and then her plate, she got a startling wash of déjà vu. Dear God, this was high school all over again with Riley leading a conversation here and there and she smiling and laughing along. There was the difference in Riley being reserved and conversation centering around livestock and the weather instead of cars and football, but still basically the same.
Don’t get her wrong, she was having a good time. Riley included her in the conversation same as he used to, but she was over this and ready for more. She sat next to him at a table that had been set up in the yard. He handed her a glass of tea and she his plate.
“Having fun?”
She smiled. “Yeah. I am.”
At that moment, a lovely blonde sat next to her. Shellie faced the woman as she sat. “Hi, I’m Shellie Chambers. I’m a friend of Riley’s.”
“Oh hey!” The woman’s face brightened, her brilliant eyes held a smile and warmth. “Jessie McBride.” Another blonde sat on the other side of Jessie. “And this is my cousin, Tiffany. Are you here visiting?”
And at that moment, Riley’s hand dropped to Shellie’s thigh. His large palm covered the top of her leg, his long fingers rested between her thighs, and she completely lost her train of thought. He wasn’t doing anything suggestive or dirty under the table, but it was just that his hand was on her, warming her and zapping her words before they could even reach her tongue.
Shellie blinked and stared at Jessie. “I’m so sorry, but what did you say?”
Jessie’s head tipped back at that and laugher spilled out. She sat forward again and leaned over to whisper. “Don’t worry. I’d be distracted if he’d just put his hand on my leg, too. Oh, hell, if
any
man did, I think I’d lose every word I know.”
Shellie felt her jaw go slack and warmth took her cheeks—this time because she was utterly and completely humiliated, but also amused because the woman next to her got it. “Thank you.”
And conversation continued on, with only the occasionally hiccup when Riley would squeeze her leg in a most suggestive manner which would make her all but leap off her seat. And then he went and lazily stroked her thigh.
Jessie tipped her head in Riley’s direction. “I think he’s probably ready to go.”
Shellie laughed herself and whispered back. “I know I am.”
At that, the two cousins released full out laughter that had every head at the table turning to look at them. The pair didn’t seem to care, and Shellie wasn’t certain they even realized. Riley glanced down at her.
His brow was scrunch, but she only smiled. “You about ready?”
“Yep.”
He nodded and stood and stepped behind her. Balancing their mostly empty plates in one hand, he pulled her chair out as she stood. She turned to say thank you, but her foot hung and she tipped forward.
Riley reached out, the plates in his hands forgotten and he smacked them against her chest in an effort to keep her from falling. Something a bit wet and mushy smashed against her chest. A flicker of something else cold splattered over her cheeks. A hush fell over the people there and all stared. Riley’s eyes were huge in his head.
She forced through the slight embarrassment. “Anyone know how to remove a barbeque stain?”
Chuckles broke out around them and everyone resumed their conversation. Riley dropped the overturned plates on the table and reached for her elbows, helping to straighten her up. “I am so sorry.”
She shook her head and gripped his arm. “No, thank you for keeping me from falling on my face.”
His mouthed opened—but a woman’s voice interrupted him.
“Oh, you poor thing!”
Shellie looked around Riley and saw Stephanie stepping up. “No big. Just a stain.”
Stephanie smiled and glanced to Riley. “Take her inside to the bathroom. Just down the hall to your left from the front door. Some rags are in the drawer.”
Shellie shook her head. “We were just going anyway.”
Stephanie continued to smile, but lowered her voice. “You’ve got a chunk of potato salad in your cleavage and sauce on your forehead. I won’t have you leaving looking like that. God only knows what some of these neighbors would think. Go on and clean up and I’ll box you up some cake to take home.”
Riley grinned. “You heard the woman.”
He gestured Shellie ahead. Once inside she turned to him. “This really isn’t necessary. I can clean up at the house.”
He picked something out of her hair and showed her a slither of chicken skin. “I think it wouldn’t hurt to clean up just a little.”
She winced. “I think if Mom was here, this would have officially gotten me disowned.”
He shook his head. “Nah. She’d likely have me arrested on some crazy charges of attempted physical harm, but I think she’d be proud with the way you handled it. I know I am.”
Her gaze dropped. She had handled that spot well with humor and a flip of the hand. Her mother probably would have been proud, but Shellie knew she wouldn’t have taken the accident as well with her mother breathing down her neck. Oh, she’d like to think she would have, but instead of her off-handed comment, she would have run. Not so much in embarrassment over the incident, but from what her mother might have said instead.
He put his arm over her shoulders and tugged her down a short hall and into a small bathroom. It was simple with the only items out being a roll of toilet paper and a bottle of dish soap next to the sink. She pulled open the top drawer looking for a rag. Hairspray, a brush, and a strip of condoms slid to the front.
“Well.”
Riley looked over her shoulder. “What?”
And then he saw them. His eyes darkened and she watched as a swallow passed down his throat. Without a word, he put his hand to the front of the drawer and silently slid it closed. Disappointment touched her. It wasn’t that she wanted to steal a strip of condoms. Or even take one, for that matter. She didn’t even know those people, but it was that he hadn’t taken time to really consider it before saying no.
He opened another drawer and withdrew and rag. “Let’s get this cleaned off.”
She forced a smile and leaned against the counter as he wet the rag. Sure, she could take it from him and do it herself and probably faster, but why? Hell, she’d even left the potato salad in her boobs for him to deal with.
He’d changed during the barbeque. He was still held back and holding in his shadows, but he’d flirted with her. Kept his hand on her thigh. He seemed to be hovering right on the edge of either taking her or turning to a cold shoulder.
The rag now wet, he turned off the silver knobs and rang the excess water off. She put her hands behind her and thrust her chest forward. “Clean me up.”
The corner of his lips turned up as he pulled salad from her cleavage and just as quickly tossed it in the trash. She frowned, but released the tension off her face as he turned back to her. With quick, cleaning strokes, he dipped the warm rag between her breasts. The corners stroked into her bra and sent chills over her body.
He adjusted positions, causing his wrist to rub over an achingly sensitive nipple. Breath rushed out of his lungs and he stilled for a long moment. His eyes dropped closed. Even if he refused to acknowledge it, the heat popping between them was impossible to miss. Being in his arms those all too brief moments flared through, wishing she’d had more. Wishing he’d remained at home the rest of the day so she could lay naked against him as he’d wanted to do. She edged a bit closer, brushing her thighs along his. A loud breath sucked in his chest. His eyes opened and met hers.
He only stared.
She touched his hands and guided the rag along her chest to clean up the mess. He didn’t object, only allowed her to move him where she desired. She leaned in closer to him and raised his hands to her neck. His knuckles brushed her jaw and the rag plopped to the floor.
His lips were on hers in rush of immediate need. That morning on the four-wheeler had been amazing, but had left her desiring and needing more. She wanted him like she’d never wanted anything in her life. There’d always been something about Riley that made her want to throw caution to the wind, but now she was really, really wanting to do that and never look back.
She stepped against him. Allowed her hips to align against his and she shifted so that she brushed his already hard length.
His lips tore from hers and ravished down her jaw and to her neck. His breath puffed out as though he couldn’t get enough air and he struggled for more. Oh, God. Riley had let himself go. And it was good. His hands cupped her breasts and he growled against her neck. He reached down, grasped the hem of her sweater and ripped it over head.